


Snake In The Grass

by APermanentResidentOfTheFriendzone



Category: Original Work, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Doesn't actually have anything to do with Steven Universe, Gen, I just wrote this in my journal, It's something a friend of mine and I have been working on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 04:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18843406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APermanentResidentOfTheFriendzone/pseuds/APermanentResidentOfTheFriendzone
Summary: A look into a world that my friend and I have been creating. Don't take it too seriously, we don't either, but we do wish to write stories about it like this in the future, so I'm testing the waters with this one.





	Snake In The Grass

**Author's Note:**

> Just for anyone with prior knowledge, this is _not_ the same Serpentine that I attempt to place in the Steven Universe canon. He is admittedly the same character in essence of personality and physical design, but here he's not a gem, he's just a humanoid creature that I may flesh out more later. Maybe it's just me being too lazy to think up another character for this universe my friend and I have made, but hey, my character, I decide what I do with it.

The forest was dense.

Too dense for his liking, really. But, given his experiences out in the Eastern regions of the world, that was only to be expected. This was his first time traveling out to the West.

But, his master had taught him to be adaptable, and Serpentine wasn't going to let his master's teachings fall on deaf ears.

Drawing his blade, he carved himself a path through the oncoming bramble, and then made two quick intersecting cuts on a large tree trunk, forming an _X_ , and then sheathed his blade. This may have seemed pointless, but by marking this area, he would know that he'd been here if he inadvertently circled back here. This wasn't exactly a secret either, the Magistrate practically preached this to all of their Youth Scout troops. Thank goodness for that.

Serpentine scoffed at himself. _I'm thanking the Magistrate for something._ he thought while shaking his head. _Maybe their propaganda really is getting to me._

After about another hour of walking, he arrived in a large clearing, his legs having grown quite sore. He mentally berated himself for this, as it probably could have been avoided if he hadn't made the stubborn decision to walk on for two straight days.

 _Maybe Master was right when he told me I push myself too hard._ Serpentine thought to himself, when he noticed that in the middle of the clearing, there sat a large stone with sides that were very smooth, almost a bit too smooth to be natural, which already put Serpentine on edge. Hand on the hilt of his blade, he cautiously continued his approach.

 _If my hunch is correct, something's going to happen when I speak to this rock._ he thought.

He'd arrived at the base of the stone now. It was now time to test his theory. Crouching down low, he leaned in close to the rock, and spoke:

 **"Chernodiya"** he murmured. The Kyptorian word for 'activate'. An ancient word of an ancient language that many people today failed to remember, and so it seldom carried meaning to anyone. But not here.

The effect of the word was almost instantaneous. The stone immediately began to rumble and shift, the shapeless mass of minerals eventually gaining extremities before growing a head and standing erect.

A _rune golem_. The first one he'd ever seen first-hand. Memories rushed through his mind, taking him back to the days his master taught him about the magical beasts. How they were made to protect the masses, only to turn on their creators, slaughtering them like lambs. He didn't hold any personal grudge against the stone sentinels, but he understood that every one of them needed to be destroyed.

 _Still, I'd love to have a nice, long chat with the genius that thought giving anything sentience using rune magic would still leave it submissive._ he thought as the golem reared back it's giant fist, throwing it down at Serpentine. Fortunately, he jumped out of place just in time.

He drew his blade, striking hard and fast on the golem's arm, which was still stuck in the earth. But his blade was sadly not suited to cutting through the thick rock, and so he didn't make a lot of progress before the golem got his free and began attacking.

He narrowly avoided the onslaught of fists. Forget about power, this thing was fast. Normally, Serpentine would be able to keep up with no hassle, but he'd been walking for two days without pause, leaving him strained. He wasn't going to last very long.

 _Why did these things have to start upgrading themselves after they rebelled against humanity?_ he thought to himself, when suddenly, the golem sent one if it's feet flying into Serpentine, the unexpected impacted throwing about fifteen feet away.

Serpentine sat up gingerly, barely regaining his bearings before he looked to see the golem perform an impressive leap, raising it's fists together to slam down on Serpentine as it landed.

Thinking quickly, Serpentine blasted out a large cloud of smoke from his fingertips, then desperately rolled to the left about half a second before the golem landed. Just as he finished rolling, a strong rush of air blew past him. Too close.

Under the cover of the smoke he'd emitted, Serpentine dashed out of the clearing, hiding in some nearby bushes. Unfortunately, the path he'd taken had gone through grass that went up to his waist, leaving behind an obvious trail. The golem was admittedly a more primitive model, but that didn't make it stupid. Even though it couldn't him directly, it knew where he had gone, following is path out of the clearing, and getting too close to his hiding spot to be comfortable.

 _Please don't be a recent enough model to know how to scan for vital signs._ he silently prayed, his heart slamming against his rib cage. 

The golem walked slowly, it's footsteps getting ever so close to the bushes. But just when Serpentine thought he'd been discovered, the golem lumbered past the bushes, continuing deeper into the forest.

Serpentine breathed out with relief, slowly easing out of the bushes whilst keeping an eye on the retreating golem. He would still need to figure out a plan for taking the golem out of commission, but he seemed to be out of the woods for the moment (pun intended).

And then he stepped on a dead branch.

The golem was on him an instant. It may have been old, but it certainly wasn't deaf. In what felt like no time at all, the golem had seized him by the legs, and flung him so hard that he broke though a twelve-year-old tree before a sudden meeting with the ground.

Seething at the pain, Serpentine felt around at his body. No signs of internal bleeding, so that was something. But it wasn't going to matter for much longer.

Serpentine looked up, only to see the golem leap into the air like before, seeming sure that this time the blow would connect. And it was probably right. There was no way he could get out of the way in time. It seemed to be the end for him.

But as the golem was making it's descent, it landed no less than a metre above him, on what looked to be thin air! It was then that Serpentine looked to his side and saw that a mystic had come to his aid, casting a protective barrier over the two of them, halting the golem's devastating attack.

Undeterred, the golem raised it's foot to stomp down, hoping to break whatever shield protecting the two life forms it saw from harm. But it's attack was yet again interrupted by the arrival of a new figure, who bashed his iron shield against the golem with an unrelenting force, just managing to knock the golem off of the barrier and send it sprawling to the ground.

The mystic relaxed, allowing the barrier to disperse, and then quickly grabbed Serpentine and dragged him away from the golem. After they had reached the edge of the clearing, the mystic released Serpentine and shouted:

"Kyo! Get him to a safe distance! We'll buy you some time!" He then turned back and ran to help his companion, who was now going toe-to-toe with the recovered golem.

A new figure entered his vision. Like the first one, she too was a mystic. She knelt down gently beside him, looking at him with eyes that carried a natural spark about them.

"You'll be alright." she murmured quietly. "We're going to get you to safety. Come on, up you get." she encouraged, helping Serpentine into a sitting position.

Serpentine shook his head. "No, I need to get back in there, I can still help." but the girl was already shaking her head right back.

"You got banged up quite a bit, friend. No offense, but there's not that much you can do." she said in an attempt to change his mind.

Serpentine stood up, turning back into the clearing and making his way towards the battle. "I have to try." he said. "I'm not going to stand by and do nothing when I can do the things that I can do." he said with a passion. The girl took notice, and even though she didn't truly know him, she seemed to notice the history behind that passion as she gazed into his eyes.

"Alright." she conceded. "Just be careful, okay? I know it's sounds coming from someone you just met, but.................." she trailed off, not sure how to put her thoughts to words.

Despite the dire situation, Serpentine allowed the girl one of his rare smiles. "It's alright." he said. "You have a sort of caring, motherly essence about you, anyways." he added, causing the girl's cheeks to flush.

The tender moment was cut abruptly short as a cry of pain from the centre of the clearing brought their attention back to the battle at hand. The shield-bearing mercenary had been struck down by the golem, leaving the mystic to fend for himself.

Not hesitating for a moment, Serpentine broke into a sprint, attempting to reach and assist the mystic. But apparently this wasn't necessary, as the mystic suddenly summoned a giant cleaver out of nowhere, and sent the golem flying with single swing. But this attack was a lot more draining on the mystic than he could bear, as he shortly fell to his knees after the large blade vanished.

The mercenary, having regained his footing, rushed over and helped the mystic up, his iron shield left shattered from the golem's attacks. 

"It broke my shield. I fear we may have awakened a sleeping giant, my friend." said the mercenary, dusting off the mystic's shoulders and tunic.

"The golem's composed of igneous rock. Our best bet is overheat and melt it, but none of my incendiary spells will work fast enough before the rock will itself off. We're in a bad spot, Ikki." the mystic muttered.

Lucky thing that I'm here, then." Serpentine said, announcing his presence to the two. They turned to face him, both somewhat skeptical of him and his claim.

"Your persistence is admirable, friend. But that thing damn near wiped the floor with you. What are you going to do this time?" the mystic questioned.

"You're a mystic, are you not? Look into my eyes." he instructed. "Look, and see the truth there that no one else can." Conceding, the mystic focused and gazed deeper into Serpentine, beyond the surface, and saw. Saw all the years of horror and trauma endured by himself and those closest to him, all of it caused by an ability he couldn't understand at the time. Saw every day when he saw it as a great blessing, and every day when he saw it as the most binding curse. And finally, he saw how he'd come to accept it, and learned to live with that which made him an outcast.

The mystic stopped, and looked at Serpentine. Looked _at_ him, not _within_ , a new level of understanding in his vision.

"Are you certain you're capable of it?" he asked. Serpentine strode past him, facing the rune golem, who had recovered and was now charging at the three like a bat out of hell.

"We'll find out soon enough." he replied fatalistically, continuing to walk out to face the golem.

"Then now would be an optimal time for you to get angry my friend." he called out.

"That's a little secret of mine, mystic." he said, turning back slightly and looking at him with an amused smirk.

"I'm _always_ angry." and with that, he turned back to face the golem, who was no less than three metres from him, and lost his temper.

His entire body exploded into a bright blue flame, engulfing him completely as he held his hand out in front of him as the golem came upon him. It pushed against him, but he held his ground, the friction between his feet and the ground eventually grinding the two combatants to a halt.

The golem was confused, still attempting to push the smaller creature further back, only to be rewarded with him further overpowering it.

 **"You are already dead."** Serpentine snarled in his native tongue, and his assault began.

He struck the golem hard and fast, his body a whirlwind of arms, legs, and flame. The golem flailed about, seeming to sustain attacks from every direction at once, sending it off balance. It tried to hit Serpentine as much as it could, but every time it threw an attack his way, he was already long gone.

The battle ended swiftly. The golem continued to suffer an endless amount of blows, until eventually one of Serpentine's kicks connected directly with the golem's right shoulder joint, blowing it's right arm off completely, revealing the melting stone on the inside. Serpentine repeated the action another three times, leaving the golem as an arm-less, leg-less stump, awaiting it's demise like a sheep. And it came. Serpentine delivered one last two-handed attack, the impact reducing what was left of the golem to nothing more than a pile of molten magma. Shortly after, the golem's rune spirit emerged from the magma. 

"Vic! Now!" shouted the mercenary. The mystic reached into one of his many pouches and pulled out a yellow rune card, vapourizing the spirit with a blazing ray of light.

 _A runekeeper as well._ Serpentine mused through his red haze. _Impressive_

With the battle over, Serpentine finally became aware of his surroundings again, and noticed how the landscape had been scorched by his fiery display. Holding his hands out, he absorbed all of the flames into his palms before finally extinguishing himself with a sharp snap of his body. He closed his eyes, and slowly breathed out before opening them again. He no longer felt tired and felt no pain from his injuries. Setting himself on fire tended to re-energize in that sense.

He turned to face the other two.

"A runekeeper." he said quietly, looking to the mystic, whose gaze shifted downward slightly.

"It's not something I like people knowing. Don't go telling people that like it's nothing, alright?" he asked, his body lined with discomfort. The mercenary noticed, and took control of the conversation.

"And a pyromancer born naturally with his gifts. Don't see many of those around these days, do you?" he rebounded.

"There are reasons for that." Serpentine replied vaguely, also looking away.

"I must admit, that was some mighty fast fighting you did with that, friend. Aetsen herself would be proud." he added, an infectious smile playing at his lips. Serpentine bowed his head slightly in thanks.

"Speaking of which, how was it that you were activated that golem in the first place? They don't exactly sell Kyptorian dictionaries down at the bazaar." the mystic asked, his interest suddenly rejuvenated.

"I don't see the wisdom in telling all my secrets to complete strangers." Serpentine said in a serious manner, although he was smirking at the two. The mercenary stepped forward, extending his hand.

"That can be easily remedied. I am he called Ikki, always happy to be of service of any fair man or woman. For the right price, at least." he said, the last part added with a smarmy, shit-eating grin. Rolling his eyes, Serpentine took the man's hand and shook it. Once finished with the greeting, he turned to the mystic.

"And who would you be?" he asked while approaching him, offering his own hand. While approaching, he noticed an odd insignia on the shoulder of the mystic's tunic. It looked familiar, although he couldn't place a name to it. 

The mystic shook his hand. "I am called Victoria. Victoria IX." he introduced. Serpentine raised his eyebrow.

" _Victoria?_ he questioned skeptically, giving the man a once-over.

"I had eccentric parents." he said while rolling his eyes.

"Evidently." Serpentine replied dryly, drawing a snicker from Ikki. He looked to the pair of them.

"Victoria. Ikki. My name is Serpentine, I hail from the Eastern regions of this world." he said.

"Oh by the way, don't bother with his full name. He prefers having friends call him 'Vic'. Ikki corrected with a grin. Victoria elbowed his ribs.

 _"Vic!"_ came a great shout from beyond the clearing. The three of them turned to face the source of the sound to see the girl from earlier running toward them.

"See what I mean?" Ikki asked Serpentine. Victoria threw him a look that showed him to be quite exhausted with what seemed to be a very over-used joke before turning to face the other mystic.

"Slow down, Kyo. What's the matter?" he asked , laying a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"We've got incoming, Vic. I tried to lead them away from here, but that last stunt from our new friend got us caught." she informed through heavy breaths.

"'Apologies. That's my fault. It's Kyo, right? I'm Serpentine." he quickly greeted, and then looked past her out into the forest. True to her word, a large platoon of grunts entered the clearing just then, coming to make a circle around the foursome.

 **"Damn."** Serpentine mutter in his native tongue. "The Magistrate is here."

Once they had the group surrounded, one soldier in particular stepped further in. The bright yellow marks on his helmet marked him as the platoon's commander. He cackled wickedly.

"How wonderful! Just when I'm thinking that we weren't going to have any fun today, our monks tell me they've felt an emergence of rune magic out in the forest, and upon investigating, we find members of the hated Mystic Order, just begging to be taken down! Not bad, eh boys?" he asked. He was answered with a large cheer from the grunts.

 _So that's what the insignia meant._ Serpentine thought. It was impossible not to have heard at least one of the many stories about the heralded Mystic Order. The group was known throughout the world for their public rejection and opposition of the Magistrate, as well as their covenant of fighting for the freedoms of each and every creature the gods gave life, and destroying the shackles the Magistrate had placed upon them.

During his reminiscing, it seemed that the commander had scrutinized him, before looking to the still burnt landscape of the clearing, and seemed to put two and two together.

"Hey boys! I think the one with the big katana is a _firebug_ as well! We know what to do with firebugs, don't we boys?" he asked. Again, he was answered with a loud cheer from the grunts.

Serpentine winced slightly. Memories once again flashed through him, taking him back to times he'd been called that specific name, and forced into a mold because of it. It wasn't that all pyromancers were inherently bad, of course not. It was just that many of his kind before him were a lot more...........irresponsible with their gifts than he was, which led to them being given a bad reputation.

"Well, then let's get down to it, boys!" the commander ordered. Eagerly, the grunts began to close in on the group, inching ever closer.

"Great. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, am I right?" Ikki asked jokingly as the small group backed into each other, pulling out his broadsword in a two-handed stance.

"Not the time, Ikki." Kyo snapped, raising her hands, ready to cast any spell she knew in an instant.

Victoria turned to Serpentine. "You don't have get mixed up in this, you know? This is between the Mystic Order and the Magistrate, nobody else, and the three of us are more than enough to handle these whelps. If you get involved now, you'll be on their shit-list too. You don't want that, believe me." he said, preparing himself for battle once more.

Serpentine shook his head reassuringly. "Don't worry about me- _Vic. _Any enemy of the Magistrate is a friend of mine." he said with a smile.__

__"Besides, I'm a pyromancer, I'm on their shit-list regardless." he added, before drawing his blade, ready to meet his enemy, and protect his new friends._ _

__

__It was now four hours since then. The four of them had fought bravely together, decimating the platoon and sending them scattering into the brush. Ikki had wrapped up in a bear-hug once the battle had ended, praising him for being an excellent fellow swordsman. He seemed to be quite the dramatic one, that Ikki._ _

__Serpentine had spent the time since then resting with them, and right as everyone had gotten up to leave, Serpentine had separated from them and was about to continue on his path when someone called out him._ _

__"Aren't you coming with us, Serpentine?" It was Kyo, looking at him with pleading eyes. "You don't like the Magistrate any more than we do, and we could always use more help if we're going to let everyone be free." she said, that spark of hope ever present in her gaze. Serpentine pretended to contemplate for a few moments._ _

__"I don't know." he said with mock indifference. "I've grown rather accustomed to the silence that comes with solitude, and I'm guessing none of you are really the quiet type, are you?" he added. Kyo's face fell, clearly disappointed. It only made Serpentine's grin bigger once he revealed it._ _

__"But," he said. "Master told me never to turn my nose up to new experiences, so why don't I just see where this takes me?" he asked, going over to join the group._ _

__Kyo cheered, pulling him in for a quick hug before releasing and pulling him over to them, kicking off a fast-moving conversation that Serpentine had no clue what was about._ _

__This was a new beginning for him. For the longest time, Serpentine had held a desire to do something about all the wrong being done in the world, but he was stopped by the knowledge that he wouldn't be able to do it alone. But now, he wouldn't have to. They were going to make real change together, and that thought gave Serpentine hope for the future, something he hadn't had in a long, long time._ _

**Author's Note:**

> As mentioned previously, this is just an experiment I'm running. If you have thoughts, comments, or questions, I'd appreciate having you share them. And of course, thank you ever so much for taking time out of your day to read this. Friendzone out.


End file.
